Key Moments: Realtors® Share Stories From on the Job

Realtors® help buyers and sellers close doors on old memories and open doors to new ones. Along the way, they form connections and create lasting memories of their own. 

Here, three Pennsylvania Realtors® share their most memorable stories. 

A Veteran Connection 

“During COVID and highest and best fury, I received 13 offers on a property where I represented the seller,” recalls Dominick Sacci, a member of the Pocono Mountains Association of Realtors®. 

“But the owner didn’t take the one with the highest sales price, or even the ‘best terms.’ He accepted an offer that was from a veteran, because he was also one. This was a highlight for me, a blessing for these buyers, and I will never forget it!” 

Foundations for Family (and Community) 

“It’s incredibly rewarding to be a change-maker for families in this role,” says Todd Van Horn, a Realtor® with the Realtors® Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh. “I’ve been fortunate to help many transition from renting to homeownership, empowering them to build a lasting family legacy and generational wealth.” 

“I fondly recall working with a man in the late 1990s – a talented sous chef who dreamed of owning a home for his family. He and his wife were raising their four children in a cramped two-bedroom apartment, where two kids had to sleep on opposite ends of the living room couch.” 

“Homeownership felt like an impossible dream for him, as no one in his family had ever owned a house. However, thanks to a federal consent decree involving the Allegheny Housing Authority, we could access funds specifically earmarked for homeowner investment in certain neighborhoods.” 

“This incredible opportunity allowed him and his family of six to achieve first-generation homeownership,” Van Horn says. “Years later, the equity he built in his home became the foundation for his next venture: purchasing a family restaurant where he and his older sons were able to work together, contributing to their community.” 

Professionalism Interrupted 

Jim Jarrett, District 10 vice president, recalls a memorable transaction working with a friend and her family after their father passed away. The family was looking for an agent to list their parents’ home to sell for the estate. 

Jarrett, who can be colorful in his own language, decided that even though he knew the family’s four sisters personally, he would be extremely professional with his presentation, because the decision to select the Realtor® would be “by committee.” 

“I was standing in the living room with four sisters and a niece staring from the couch at me,” he recalls. “I start my presentation, and they’re all quiet and focused on my explanation. And then the sisters start talking amongst themselves, not really listening to me.” 

Jarrett continued to talk, thinking they would eventually start paying attention, which didn’t happen. 

“Then one sister stands up and shouts, ‘Shut the f— up! Jim is trying to talk!” which caught me totally off guard,” he says. 

“The room got very quiet, and I finished my presentation. I got the listing and sold it!” 

Have a memorable Realtor® story? 

Whether heartwarming, inspiring or funny (or all three), send it to Hope Walborn for a chance to be featured.